Photochemical Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles Using UV LEDs Under Different Citrate and PVP Concentrations

Abstract The photochemical synthesis of plasmonic nanoparticles (NPs) has many advantages compared to chemical routes, including synthesis at room temperature, control of the outcomes, and no harmful reactants. Herein, the results of employing UV LEDs for the photochemical synthesis of stable aqueous solutions of citrate-capped and polyvinylpyrrolidone (pvp)+citrate-capped Ag nanoparticles are reported. The size of the NPs does not depend on the quantity of citrate, although increasing the amount of PVP reduced their size and number. The results also showed evidence of a reverse Ostwald ripening process induced by UV light.